A Global Source for More than a Decade

Holidays & Festivals expert Stephanie Fenton is internationally known for her reporting on major holidays, festivals and milestones that shape community life around the world. There are many other calendars that claim to provide this information at the click of a link or an app, but Stephanie is the leading journalist focused every week of the year on actively reporting about these milestones. That’s important, because dates and times and even the names of these observances vary—as well as the meaning of these observances in various countries and cultures. In her columns, Stephanie explains the fascinating stories behind these events, advises readers on newsy updates—and always provides an array of links to learn more about everything from the history of the holiday to DIY holiday-related crafts and tasty traditional recipes.

It’s simple to find these columns. Just go to the master year-long calendar via InterfaithHolidays.com

Got a question? Perhaps you’re questioning one of the listed dates—or you wish we would list an observance that particularly interests you. Please, contact us at [email protected]

Holidays and Festivals January 2025

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is January 20, 2025.

JANUARY is named for Janus, the Roman god associated with beginnings and transitions. The many month-long observances in various parts of the world include a special focus on Alzheimer’s disease (Canada) and on combatting human trafficking and slavery (U.S.). Over the past two decades in the U.S., January also has been designated National Mentoring Month.

1—Mary, Mother of God (Catholic Christian)

1—Feast of St. Basil (Christian)

1—Shogatsu/Gantan-sai (New Year) (Shinto)

5—Twelfth Night (Christian)

6—Epiphany (Christian) (Note: Observed in some denominations on Sunday, January 5, in 2025)

6—Theophany (Feast of the Epiphany) (Orthodox Christian)

6—Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day) (Christian)

6—Jayanti (birthday) of Guru Gobindh Singh (Sikh)

7—Feast of the Nativity (Orthodox Christian, Julian calendar)

7—Lunar Bodhi Day (Buddhist)

10—Sunrise, Fast of Tevet 10 (Jewish)

12—Baptism of the Lord (Christian)

13—Prayag Kumbh Mela (Hindu)

14—New Year (Buddhist, Mahayana)

18—Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins (Christian)

18—Sundown, World Religion Day (Baha’i)

19—Timkat (Ethiopian Orthodox Christian)

20—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (U.S.)

25—Conversion of St. Paul (Christian)

26—Sundown, Lailat al Miraj (Isra Mi’raj) (Islamic)

27—International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust (UN)

29—Chinese New Year

Holidays and Festivals February 2025

Ramadan begins so late in February 2025 that the actual fasting days are in March and early April.

FEBRUARY is another echo of ancient Rome, where februum meant “purification.” Among February’s month-long observances are Library Lovers Month and Black History Month in Canada and the U.S. (October in the UK).

1—Feast of St. Brighid of Kildare (Celtic Christian)

1—Imbolc (Lughnassadh) (Northern/Southern hemisphere) (Wiccan, pagan)

2—Candlemas (Presentation of Christ in the Temple) (Christian)

2—Groundhog Day

2—Vasant Panchami (Hindu)

3—Four Chaplains Day (Interfaith)

9—Tridion begins (Orthodox Christian)

11—Our Lady of Lourdes (Catholic Christian)

12—Magha Puja Day / Sangha Day (Buddhist)

12—Sundown, Tu B’Shvat (Jewish)

13—Sundown, Lailat al Bara’ah (Mid-Sha’ban) (Islamic)

14—St. Valentine’s Day (Christian, international holiday)

15—Parinirvana Day (Nirvana Day) (Buddhist, Jain)

17—Presidents’ Day (U.S.)

23—Meatfare Sunday (Judgment Sunday) (Orthodox Christian)

24—Sundown, Ayyam-i-Ha (Intercalary Days) begins (Baha’i)

26—Maha Shivaratri (Hindu)

28—Sundown, Nineteen-Day Fast begins (Baha’i)

28—Sundown, Ramadan begins (Islamic)

Holidays and Festivals March 2025

Ash Wednesday and the start of Western Christian Lent fall on March 5, 2025—which means that Mardi Gras festivals precede that.

MARCH‘s name recalls Mars, yet another Roman deity. This year, the moveable season of Lent begins in March for the majority of Christians around the world. Among March’s month-long observances are National Social Work Month and Women’s History Month, which includes International Women’s Day.

1—St. David of Wales (Christian)

2—Cheesefare Sunday (Forgiveness Sunday) (Orthodox Christian)

3—Clean Monday / Great Lent begins (Orthodox Christian)

4—Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) (Christian)

5—Ash Wednesday / Lent begins (Christian)

9—Daylight Saving Time begins

9—Feast of Orthodoxy / Sunday of Orthodoxy / Orthodox Sunday (Orthodox Christian)

13—Birthday of L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology)

13—Sunrise, Fast of Esther (Jewish)

13—Holika Dahan (Hindu)

13—Sundown, Purim (Jewish)

14—Holi (Hindu)

14—Hola Mohalla (Sikh)

17—St. Patrick’s Day (Christian, international holiday)

19—St. Joseph’s Day (Christian)

19—Sundown, Naw-Ruz (Baha’i)

20—Vernal (spring) equinox (Northern Hemisphere)

20—Ostara (Mabon) (Wicca, pagan) (Northern/Southern hemisphere)

20—Nowruz (Zoroastrian)

21—International Day of Nowruz

25—Annunciation of the Lord (Christian)

26/27—Sundown, Lailat al-Qadr (27^th night of Ramadan) (Islamic)

29—Sundown, Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan ends) (Islamic)

30—Mothering Sunday (UK)

30—Ugadi / Gudi Padwa (Hindu)

31—Easter Sunday (Christian).

Holidays and Festivals April 2025

Passover begins April 12, 2025.

APRIL‘s origin is debated by scholars but its name may reflect aperire, which means “to open.” Among April’s month-long observances are Arab American Heritage Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

6—Swaminarayan Jayanti (Hindu)

6—Rama Navami (Hindu)

(Note: Some Hindus begin reading the Ramayana nine days prior to the start of Rama Navami)

11—Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu)

12—Lord’s Evening Meal (Jehovah’s Witness Christian)

12—Lazarus Saturday (Orthodox Christian)

12—Fast of the Firstborn (Jewish)

12—Sundown, Pesach (Passover) begins (Jewish)

13—Palm Sunday (Christian)

13—Palm Sunday (Orthodox Christian)

13—New Year (Buddhist, Theravada)

14—Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) (Sikh)

17—Maundy Thursday (Christian)

18—Good Friday (Christian)

18—Holy Friday (Orthodox Christian)

19—Black (Holy) Saturday (Christian)

19—Holy Saturday (Orthodox Christian)

19—Sundown, First Day of Ridvan (Baha’i)

20—Easter Sunday (Christian)

20—Great and Holy Pascha (Easter) (Orthodox Christian)

21—Easter Monday (Christian)

22—Earth Day

23—Sundown, Yom HaShoah (Jewish)

27—Sundown, Ninth Day of Ridvan (Baha’i)

29—Sundown, Yom HaZikaron (Jewish)

30—Akshaya Tritiya (Hindu, Jain)

30—Sundown, Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Jewish)

30—Sundown, Twelfth Day of Ridvan (Baha’i)

Holidays and Festivals May 2025

MAY‘s name also comes from an ancient deity, in this case associated with fertility. Among May’s month-long observances are special devotions to Mary in Catholic communities, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and Military Appreciation Month.

1—Beltane (Samhain) (Wicca, pagan) (Northern/Southern hemisphere)

1—National Day of Prayer (U.S.)

5—Cinco de Mayo

11—Mother’s Day (U.S.)

12—Vesak (Buddha Day) (Buddhist)

(Note: Observance dates vary)

15—Trinity Sunday (Christian)

15—Sundown, Lag B’Omer (Jewish)

22—Sundown, Declaration of the Bab (Baha’i)

26—Memorial Day (U.S.)

27—Sundown, Ascension of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i)

29—Ascension of the Lord (Ascension of Jesus) (Christian) (Note: Thursday, May 29 is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia. All other ecclesiastical provinces of the U.S. have transferred this Solemnity to Sunday, June 1)

29—Holy Ascension / Feast of the Ascension (Orthodox Christian)

30—Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib (Sikh)

Holidays and Festivals June 2025

JUNE brings a wide range of festivals and summer-themed observances in communities around the Northern Hemisphere. In the U.S., Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Riots in June 1969 and the birth of the gay-rights movement.

1—Sundown, Shavuot (Jewish)

4—Sundown, Hajj begins (Islamic)

5—Sundown, Waqf al Arafa (Day of Arafat) (Islamic)

6—Sundown, Eid al-Adha (Islamic)

8—Pentecost Sunday (Christian)

8—Pentecost (Orthodox Christian)

9—Whit Monday (Christian)

9—St. Columba of Iona (Christian)

14—Flag Day (U.S.)

15—The Sunday of All Saints (Orthodox Christian)

15—Father’s Day (U.S.)

19—New Church Day (Swedenborgian Christian)

19—Juneteenth

19—Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) (Christian) (Note: In some denominations, the solemnity is moved to Sunday, June 22)

20—Summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

20—Litha (Yule) (Wicca, pagan) (Northern/Southern hemisphere); Midsummer

24—St. John the Baptist (Christian)

26—Sundown, Hijri (New Year) (Islamic)

27—Sacred Heart of Jesus (Catholic Christian)

29—Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (Christian)

Holidays and Festivals July 2025

JULY‘s name honors Julius Caesar, who was born in this month. More summer-time festivals are sprinkled around the Northern Hemisphere, including National Hog Dog Month and National Ice Cream Month in the U.S. That’s appropriate since this is the month of American Independence Day.

4—Independence Day (U.S.)

8—Sundown, Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha’i)

5—Sundown, Ashura (Islamic)

10—Asalha Puja Day (Dharma Day) (Buddhist)

13—Sunrise, Fast of Tammuz 17; The Three Weeks begins (Jewish)

15—Obon (Ullambana) (Shichigatsu Bon, or ‘Bon in July’) (Buddhist) (Note: Bon observances vary by region. The most popular observance takes place August 13-16 in 2025, but celebrations take place between mid-July and early September)

23—Birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)

24—Pioneer Day (Mormon)

Holidays and Festivals August 2025

AUGUST was named after another Roman emperor, Augustus. Among the month-long observances are Happiness Happens (no kidding!) and National Immunization Awareness Month, which is promoted by the CDC in the U.S.

1—Lammas (Christian)

1—Lughnassadh (Imbolc) (Wicca, pagan) (Northern/Southern hemisphere)

1—Dormition Fast (Orthodox Christian)

2—Sundown, Tisha B’Av (Jewish)

6—Feast of the Transfiguration, Transfiguration of the Lord (Catholic Christian, Anglican Christian, Orthodox Christian)

8—Sundown, Tu B’Av (Jewish)

9—Raksha Bandhan (Hindu)

13—Obon (Ullambana) (Hachigatsu Bon, or ‘Bon in August) (Buddhist) (Note: Bon observances vary by region. The most popular observance takes place August 13-16 in 2025, but celebrations take place between mid-July and early September)

15—Dormition of the Theotokos (Orthodox Christian)

15—Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

16—Krishna Janmashtami (Hindu)

21—Paryushan Parvarambha begins (Jain)

26—Ganesh Chaturthi (Hindu)

28—Samvatsari Parva begins (Jain)

Holidays and Festivals September 2025

SEPTEMBER‘s name is a remnant of the fact that Romans once had 10 months and this was the seventh, hence “sept.” A whole series of cancer-awareness observances have been clustered in September, including special efforts to highlight childhood cancers, gynecologic cancers, leukemia, lymphoma, ovarian cancer and thyroid cancer.

1—Ecclesiastical New Year (Orthodox Christian)

1—Labor Day (U.S.)

4—Sundown, Mawlid an-Nabi (Islamic)

8—Nativity of the Virgin Mary/Theotokos (Christian)

11—Patriot Day (U.S.)

11—Enkutatasch (Ethiopian New Year) (Rastafari, Ethiopian Orthodox)

22—Mabon (Imbolc) (Wicca, pagan) (Northern/Southern hemisphere)

22—Autumnal (fall) equinox (Northern Hemisphere)

22—Navaratri (Hindu)

22—Sundown, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)

27—Meskel (Ethiopian Eritrean Orthodox Christian)

29—Michael and All Angels (Michaelmas) (Christian)

Holidays and Festivals October 2025

OCTOBER retains its old reference to this being the eighth month in the old Roman system, thus “oct.” One of the biggest cancer-awareness campaigns—Breast Cancer Awareness Month—takes place each October. This also is National Bullying Prevention Month.

1—Sundown, Yom Kippur (Jewish)

2—Daesara, Dussehra (Hindu)

4—St. Francis Day (Blessing of the Animals) (Catholic Christian)

6—Sundown, Sukkot (Jewish)

13—Columbus Day (U.S.)

13—Indigenous Peoples Day

13—Thanksgiving (Canada)

13—Sundown, Shemini Atzeret (Jewish)

14—Sundown, Simchat Torah (Jewish)

18—St. Luke, Apostle and Evangelist (Christian)

20—Diwali (Deepavali) (Hindu, Jain, Sikh)

21—Sundown, Birth of the Bab (Baha’i)

22—Sundown, Birth of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i)

31—Reformation Day (Protestant Christian)

31—All Hallows Eve (Christian)

31—Samhain (Wicca, pagan)

Holidays and Festivals November 2025

NOVEMBER was named for novem or “ninth,” continuing the ancient Roman custom of numbering months. This is Native American History Month, We’ve got books: Dancing My Dream as well as The Flavors of Faith, among others. November also is National Family Caregivers Month and National Hospice Month.

1—All Saints (Christian)

2—All Souls’ Day (Catholic Christian)

2—Daylight Saving Time ends

11—Veterans Day (U.S.)

15—Nativity Fast begins (Orthodox Christian)

23—Christ the King (Christian)

24—Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib (Sikh)

24—Sundown, Day of the Covenant (Baha’i)

27—Sundown, Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha (Baha’i)

27—Thanksgiving (U.S.)

30—St. Andrew’s Day (Christian)

30—First Sunday of Advent (Advent begins) (Christian)

Holidays and Festivals December 2025

DECEMBER, with dec for “ten,” wraps up the old Roman system of numbering months.

6—St. Nicholas Day (Christian)

8—Bodhi Day (Rohatsu) (Buddhism)

8—Immaculate Conception of Mary (Catholic Christian)

12—Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Catholic Christian)

13—Feast of Saint Lucy (Catholic Christian)

14—Sundown, Hanukkah (Chanukah) begins (Jewish)

16—Posadas Navidenas begins (Hispanic Christian)

21—Yule (Christian, Wicca, pagan)

21—Winter solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

25—Christmas (Nativity) (Christian)

25—Feast of the Nativity (Orthodox Christian)

26—Kwanzaa begins

26—Feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr (Christian)

28—Holy Innocents (Christian)

28—Feast of the Holy Family (Catholic Christian)

30—Sunrise, Fast of Tevet 10 (Jewish)

31—Watch Night (Christian)

NOTE TO READERS

We continue to update this list, month by month. As you read the list, you may discover we have missed a fascinating observance or detail. If so, please email us at [email protected].

(Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion, spirituality, values and interfaith and cross-cultural issues.)

“With confidence, you have won before you have started.”
Marcus Garvey

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17: From reggae bands to kids in Buffalo, from Rastafari to Africans of the Diaspora—all mark the birth anniversary of Marcus Garvey, born on this date in 1887. A Jamaican-born black nationalist who created the “Back to Africa” movement in the United States and is regarded as a prophet by the Rastafari religion, Garvey spent his life globetrotting for the cause of empowering Africans. Among his most notable accomplishments are the creation of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and African Communities League, which together claimed millions of members at the height of Garvey’s popularity.

Components of his philosophy for African economic empowerment and awareness, known as “Garveyism,” remain well-known today. Garvey was named the first national hero of Jamaica in 1964.

Q: Who was the first recipient of the Marcus Garvey Prize for Human Rights?
A: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Read more about Garvey at Wikipedia. At Read The Spirit, we also recommend the excellent PBS American Experience production, now available on DVD: The American Experience: Marcus Garvey, Look for Me in the Whirlwind. PBS still maintains the website for the documentary, which includes a transcript and other educational materials.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. was born in an impoverished Jamaica to a wealthy family. From his father, Garvey inherited a vast library and a love of reading, which led him to become well-educated by the time he left school at age 14. From this young age Garvey traveled the world, and at age 27, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Reputation exceeded the public speaker, and Garvey’s tours often centered on topics like race pride, social and economic freedom, and unity. In 1935, Garvey moved to London, where he died of a stroke five years later.

A RASTAFARI PROPHET:
JOHN THE BAPTIST & MARCUS GARVEY

During his speeches throughout the 1920s, Garvey often spoke grandly of a vision he had of the future—the appearance of a “black king” in Africa that would soon be crowned, thereby granting deliverance. In one speech, Garvey declared:

“I was determined that the black man would not continue to be kicked about, as I had seen in Central America, and as I read of it in America. Where is the black man’s government? Where is his King and his kingdom? Where is his President, his country, his men of big affairs? I could not find them, and then I declared, ‘I will help to make them.’ My brain was afire.”

After hearing many similar declarations, Garvey’s followers naturally kept a close eye on news from Africa. When Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was crowned in 1930, members of the Rastafari religion—many of whom regard Selassie as a Messiah—hailed Garvey as a religious prophet. Some regard Garvey as the reincarnation of John the Baptist.

IN THE NEWS:
A BUFFALO ESSAY CONTEST & AFRO-MEXICAN REGGAE

A local essay contest in Buffalo, New York, is set to assist the mayor in solving some of the city’s most pressing issues–from the perspective of students in grades 6 through 12. Participants will take the perspective of city mayor in solving challenges like violence, unemployment and education. (Buffalo News reports.) According to sponsor Eva Doyle, students can earn extra credit by incorporating the principles of Marcus Garvey and Garveyism into their answers.

In San Diego, bands and fans will gather at the WorldBeat Center on Aug. 18, for a tribute to the legacy of Marcus Garvey. A Mexican reggae band will mix African and Mexican cultures, in a way that organizers hope will tackle prejudice and promote unity.